Costamolino and Kikusaki

Dinner at Zozzona.

2023 Argiolas Costamolino - very fragrant and floral nose, with tropical fruits. Pretty ripe on the palate but not too sweet, with a good acidity balance and a little bitter on the finish.

Kikusaki Tokusen (菊咲特撰), from isshobin - seimaibuai of 65%. On the dry side.

2010 MNSC

Drinking at home.

2010 Hospices de Beaune Beaune 1er Cru Cuvée Rousseau-Deslandes, mis en bouteille par Lucien Le Moine pour MNSC - started drinking 30 minutes after decanting. Fragrant nose of black fruits, plum, a little woodsy. Still toasty on the nose but much more mellow now.

Bought from Altaya for HKD 590.

Gruaud Larose and Philip

Dinner at a friend's home.

2022 Mazzei Philip - opened the previous evening and vacuum pumped. Nose was a little muted and initially served a little too cold. As it opened up the nose was showing fruity and minty notes, almost sweet like candy.

2017 Gruaud Larose - started drinking 1 hour after opening. Ripe fruit on the nose, but a little metallic. Opened up a little more later and became more fragrant.

MNSC dinner - Ami

MNSC dinner at Ami, hosted by Dr. Poon.

1990 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon Rosé - a little flinty on the nose, with Chinese salted plum and marmalade. A little grassy, perhaps? Very soft of the palate after 35 years.

First flight: served without decanting around 2 hours after opening.

1995 Armand Rousseau Chambertin Clos de Beze - very fragrant nose, the fruit was just so sweet. 96 points.

1995 Leroy Clos de Vougeot - the nose was just so explosive, so fragrant, so floral, and just FUCKING GOOD. A little farmy, with leather and eucalyptus. Lots of ripe fruit. 98 points.

Second flight: served without decanting 1½ hours after opening.

1982 Cheval Blanc - smoky nose, minty, and a little stinky. More concentrated on the palate. After another 20 minutes the mint was more obvious, with a little capsicum. Still very lively and sweet on the palate, and even came with a hint of coconut butter. 97 points.

1982 L'Evangile - the nose was so perfumed, also a little smoky and bretty, with nice sweet fruit but slightly leaner. After another 40 minutes the nose was still very perfumed but now came with more leather. 96 points.

Third flight: served without decanting around 2½ hours after opening.

1926 Haut-Brion, acquired from Baghera/wines and reportedly reconditioned at the château - very ripe and jammy on the nose, so interesting with lots of spices and stewed prunes. 92 points.

1982 Haut-Brion - the nose was minty but a little muted. Also a bit alcoholic, and a hint of farmy, bretty notes. 93 points.

Since we had questioned the condition of the 1926 Haut-Brion - while tasting it blind and not realizing its age - Dr. Poon very generously opened up his "back up" wine for this flight. Just popped and poured.

1959 Haut-Brion - the nice was so sweet with lots of vanilla, so beautiful, and a little grassy. 96 points.

Somehow we ended up popping a bottle of Moutai at the very end, which isn't really my thing...

2019 Kweichow Moutai (贵州茅台) - not too bad as far as baijiu goes...

Full post on dinner is here.

2019 Nine Peaks

Drinking at home.

2019 Nine Peaks Reserve Red - started drinking 30 minutes after decanting. Nose of forest pine, sweet black fruits, with a little earthy tones. Definitely a cab sauv. Another hour in the wine was very smooth on the palate. Almost 2 hours after decanting this was showing smoky, oaky notes.

MNSC dinner - Roganic

MNSC dinner at Roganic, hosted by Lord Rayas.

2020 Dominio del Águila Albillo Viña Viejas - good acidity on the palate. Nice, toasty, and flinty on the nose, a bit like savagnin, a bit reductive on the nose. There was some ripeness on the nose but still more flinty and lean.

First flight:

2022 Dugat-Py Gevrey-Chambertin Les Evocelles Très Vieilles Vignes - opened 4 hours before serving. Really ripe on the nose with red fruits, a little forest, and pretty sweet. There was also a hint of leather as well as some metal. Nice strawberry notes, too. 96 points.

2022 William Kelley Beaune 1er Cru Les Chouacheaux - served without decanting 5 hours after opening. The nose was more metallic, but curiously a little bit of osmanthus flowers? Sharper on the nose and seemed younger. Loads of black cherries. 96.5 points.

Second flight:

1983 Lafleur - served without decanting 6½ hours after opening. Very lovely and fragrant at first, but the nose suddenly became very muted. A little minty and a little orange. 95 points.

1986 Lafleur - aired for 30 minutes before being stoppered and vacuum pumped. Allowed to breathe again 2 hours later for another 3½ hours before serving. A little sweet grass and wet cardboard on the nose on top of the fruit. 93 points.

Third flight:

2005 Rayas Rouge - decanted 7 hours prior to serving, and double-decanted back to the bottle after 1½ hours. Very funky and farmy. 95 points.

2005 Pignan - served without decanting 7 hours after opening. The nose was very fragrant with gamey leather notes. A little soapy almost. Sweet on the palate. 98 points.

Full post on dinner is here.

Krug and Pepe

Dinner at Old Tower in Beijing.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 173ème Édition, ID 124007 - this has got that classic toasty brioche nose of Grande Cuvée, while the acidity on the palate was on the high side.

2021 Emidio Pepe Trebbiano d'Abruzzo - with the first whiff I thought this may have been a little corked, but the others felt this was OK. Nose showed a little bit of toast. On the palate there was still acidity, but we've also got some ripeness and then the bitterness on the finish.

2022 Armand Heitz Rully 1er Cru Marissou - classic butter nose with toast and flint.

Full post on dinner is here.

Perrier-Jouet Blanc de Blancs

Lunch at Gastro Esthetics at DaDong in Beijing.

Perrier-Jouët Blanc de Blancs, dégorgée le 31 Juillet 2023 - good acidity balance on the palate.

Full post on lunch is here.

Chinese wines with Sichuanese food

Dinner at Chef 1996 Restaurant in Beijing.

2022 Petit Mont Baima Snow Mountain Yanjing (寸山白马雪山盐井) - OK la... this opened up after a while, showing some nice fruit, some forest notes, and maybe even a hint of coffee later.

2024 The Four Girls Mountain Chardonnay Selection (四姑娘山霞多丽臻選) - lots of vanilla and oak on the nose, along with flint and stone fruits. A little sharp and alcoholic on the nose. Got decent acidity on the palate.

1996 Wuliangye (五粮液) - very smooth on the palate. Still got that classic baijiu profile on the nose.

89 Lang Jiu (郎酒) - there was more umami on the palate, more like Shaoxing, with plummy and fermented flavors.

2023 Clos Mao Shuó Lin (说林) - definitely more rustic on the nose, reflecting the cabernet franc. Still very tannic on the palate.

2018 Célèbre Red (寶莊) - tons of vanilla oak on the nose, ripe and jammy.

2020 Lapu Valley Vidal Golden Ice Wine (藏云谷威代尔冰酒) - very floral with lots of honey.

Full post on dinner is here.

Chinese bistro wines

Supper at Bistro Strong in Beijing.

Henri Giraud MV20, dégorgée le 17 Fevrier 2025 - pretty nice and yeasty nose. Can't go wrong with this.

2023 Yunling Strong White (2023 云翎壮壮干白) - there was some fragrance here, but overall it was pretty muted on the nose.

2023 Canaan Chapter and Verse Master Riesling Sweet (2023迦南诗百篇特选甜型雷司令) - the nose was kinda interesting, floral with lychee notes, but also a bit sharp on the nose like acetone. Maybe this was just too young. Has shades of Trimbach but nowhere near as lovely.

Full post on supper is here.

Chavost Rosé

Drinking at home.

Chavost Rosé de Saignée - nose was incredibly bubble gum and candy-like, with red fruits like cranberries. Sweet on the nose, with decent depth on the palate, but kinda soft on the finish. This was a very happy wine, evoking joy from the drinker. Not a "serious" wine, but just happy. Got a little bit more serious starting with the second pour, though.

Bought from Thatcher's for USD 97.